DAY 1 - Convention Speaker bios

DAY 1: DELIVERING FOODSAFETY

09:00 – 09:30 AM

09:30 – 10:15 AM

10:15 – 11:00 AM

11:30 – 1:00 PM

1:30 - 3:00 PM

3:30 - 5:00 PM

CONVENTION AND AIFST WELCOME

WELCOME ADDRESS AND CONVENTIONOFFICIAL OPENING

K 1 - JR VICKERY ADDRESS: THEHABER-VICKERY-BORLAUG-WFPCONTINUUM

K2 - GOLD PARTNER KEYNOTE ADDRESS: FOOD TECHNOLOGY,DESIGN AND TRACEABILITY

1.3 - AN ANZ AND EUROPEAN VIEW ONALLERGEN MANAGEMENT ANDLABELLING

Presented by: Allergen Bureau

1.2 - AAFP/bioMérieux Food SafetySymposium

Presented by: AAFP & bioMerieux

1.1 - FOOD SCIENCE SUPPORTING FOODSAFETY SYSTEMS

Supported by: BVAQ

Duncan McDonald, AIFST President & Board ChairDr Lisa Szabo, Director Food Safety & CEO Food Authority

Date: 7 October 2021 | PROGRAM MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Monday 11th October 2021

Scott Hansen, NSW DPI Director General

Professor Johannes le Coutre, UNSW, Sydney

PRESENTATION & SPEAKER BIOSProfessor. Johannes Le Coutre UNSW

Topic: The Haber-Vickery-Borlaug-WFP continuum

About:

Johannes le Coutre is Professor Food & Health at UNSW,Sydney. During his Ph.D. in Biophysics at the Max-Planck-Institute, he characterized the mechanism underlyinglight driven bacterial proton transport. During hispostdoctoral training at UCLA he engaged in biochemicaland biophysical investigation of bacterial sugartransporter proteins and potassium channel proteins.

Subsequently he built the research program on tastephysiology at Nestlé Research in Switzerland. Le Coutreinitiated global research activities integrating private andpublic sectors and led those activities all the way toimplementation in the markets. Johannes has beenrecognized with several R&D awards and serves as thefounding Editor in Chief for Frontiers in Nutrition.

He established a portfolio of scientific projects at lmperialCollege London, where he holds a visiting Professorship,featuring work on microbiota, spices and on foodperception.

Since 2019 le Coutre holds a full Professorship at UNSW.He is responsible for the UNSW Food program, and he isdeveloping a broad research agenda on cellularagriculture.

K1 KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Abstract:

“The Haber-Vickery-Borlaug-WFP continuum”

Renovation of our global food system(s) probablyrepresents the single largest challenge to beaddressed if we successfully want to mitigate theimpact of climate change. The transformative stepunderlying this renovation is massive, and it doesinvolve multiple inventions and innovations. Thechange required will include both technology andpolicy solutions.

Throughout history, mankind has been faced withchanges to the way food is obtained, stored andprepared. Often these changes had been necessaryand often they turned out to be powerful. Specifically,in the 20th Century we have seen a number of criticaland connected innovations in agriculture and foodproduction. The 21st Century will build on these andcontinue to deliver meaningful breakthroughs anddiscoveries.

Interestingly, to achieve a few well-definedimprovements with regard to climate change, it seemsnecessary to alter a multitude of parameters in theway we procure, produce and provide food. Last, if we want to succeed with the changes required,we need to educate, develop and train the futureworkforce in Food & Nutrition, Science & Technology.


Scott HansenDirector General, NSW Department of Primary Industries

Topic: Food technology, design and traceability

About:

Scott Hansen joined NSW Department of PrimaryIndustries (DPI) as Director General on 17 March 2014. Before joining the Department he held seniormanagement positions in both the public and privatesectors with a defined interest in the areas of agriculture,innovation and productivity.

Immediately prior to joining the Department of PrimaryIndustries, Scott was Managing Director of Meat &Livestock Australia (MLA) responsible for the overalloperations of the business and a $170 million industry-funded budget for research and development andmarketing.

He has also served in leadership roles as the ExecutiveDirector of Sheepmeat Council of Australia, ExecutiveDirector of Victorian Farmers Federation Pastoral Group,and previously worked with the Victorian Department ofPrimary Industries.

After joining the MLA in 2004, he served as GeneralManager for Industry Affairs and Communication. Scott held an overseas post with MLA, working inWashington in 2009, heading up the Australia’s beef, lamband goat marketing efforts in the United States, Canadaand Mexico.

He graduated with a rural science degree from theUniversity of New England

K2 KEYNOTE SPEAKER


1.1 | FOOD SCIENCE SUPPORTING FOOD SAFETY SYSTEMS

Gap/internal audits.Management reviews and corrective actions.Raw material & packaging assessments for food fraud andfood safety.Risk assessment developments- food fraud, site security andfood safety.Procedure development.Food safety culture objectives and action plan development.

Clare Winkel

Topic: The identification of potential food safety hazards forthe seaweed species

About:

Clare has worked in the food industry since 1987, from the meatprocessing floor up including at Australian State and Federaldepartments, a private consultant and as an GFSI auditor &trainer.

Clare has audited in 14 countries: in Europe, North America, theSouth Pacific, the Caribbean and Australia with experienceacross numerous sectors of the food industry (wildharvest/farming to value added manufacturing) includingpackaging manufacturer & social responsibility audits.

Clare has developed training courses, standards/checklists for anumber of Australian agri-industries. Clare is currently workingon a Agrifutures project developing food safety plans for 2separate methods of processing seaweed.

Clare is available to carry out the following consulting services:

Presentation overview:

Annually there are over 36 recalls/import alerts for seaweed-based foods worldwide. Australia instigated 50% of theserecalls/alerts in 2019. Australia imported AUD $40 million ofseaweed products in 2017/18: 85% was for human consumption.Currently there are a small number of Australian seaweed foodprocessors, making bulk wholesale ingredients or finished retailready products in Australia, using line grown or collected wildseaweeds.

It is a requirement that all Australian food processors meetFSANZ section 3.2.1 (Food Safety Programs), but most localauthorities have little understanding of seaweed food safetyhazards & so do not inspect the premises. This session will look at some of the known food safety hazardswithin processed seaweed for human food consumption.



Snehal Jadhav Deakin University

Topic: Foodomics in microbial food safety

About:

Dr Snehal Jadhav is an academic working with theCASS Food Research Centre at Deakin University inMelbourne. Her current research is in food safety,focussing on microbial food safety, activepackaging and food omics. Dr Jadhav completedher PhD and Post-doctoral research at SwinburneUniversity and was working on industry linked andindustry funded projects in food safety. She hasalso worked as a Research Officer at MetabolomicsAustralia in the Bio21 Institute at University ofMelbourne during which she worked on NCRISfunded research in microbial and stem cellmetabolomics. She has about 20 publications inpeer reviewed journals with over 700 citations andan h-index of 11.


1.1 | FOOD SCIENCE SUPPORTING FOOD SAFETY SYSTEMSJasmine Lacis-LeeAllergen Bureau & BVAQ

Topic: Hygienic design and validation - the now and the future andit's impact to food safety

About:

Jasmine Lacis-Lee is a specialist in food safety management withinthe Australian food industry. Jasmine has a Bachelor of Science, withmore than 20 years’ experience as a food microbiologist and over 15years’ working in the food & beverage industries. She holdsprofessional memberships with the ASM (Australian Society ofMicrobiology), AIFST (Australian Institute of Food Science andTechnology), and EHEDG (European Hygienic Engineering & DesignGroup).

She is the Honorary and Company Secretary of the Allergen Bureauand Board Director since 2018. She is also proud to be the foundingCo-chair and Board Director for the Australian Regional division of theEHEDG.

Jasmine participated in the Allergen Bureau Risk Review Websiteworking group and current Project Lead for the Allergen BureauAgricultural Cross Contact working group. She is a member of theAOAC Gluten and Food Allergen Analysis working group and alsoparticipates in the AIFST Scientific & Technical Advisory Committee.

Jasmine joined BVAQ in 2015 and in her role regularly consults bothNationally and Internationally with large global food and beveragemanufacturers, regulatory authorities, through to QSR and hospitalfood services, where she provides strategies for managingmicrobiological and allergen risks; provides support with equipmentinstallation and validations; as well developing customised trainingcovering microbiology, allergens and food safety risks. Jasmine isalso responsible for delivering Allergen Bureau endorsed VITAL®training.


Hygienic design is a phrase that has been used for some time in the foodindustry for many years, and is well established in some sectors i.e.dairy, then others. The design of equipment can directly impact on thefood safety of the products produced and as such equipment selection isvital, more so the installation and validation. This presentation willcover that resources are available to guide the selection of equipmentand validation of equipment. Provide a case study on equipmentvalidation approaches and lastly, provide an update on certificationprograms and hygienic design incorporation.



Andrew StoneManaging Director, Rentokil Initial

Topic: Leveraging technology to support and protect healthand wellbeing in the food and beverage sector

About:

Andrew Stone is the Managing Director of the Pacific region atRentokil Initial. Prior to this, Andrew was the Finance Directorwith the company and has worked at Rentokil Initial for over 8years. Andrew also has a strong cross functional backgroundin FMCG having previously held senior sales and financeleadership roles with Unilever. A finance graduate of theUniversity of Sydney and with a Masters of Management fromthe Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Andrew has astrong passion for how we can leverage technology and theIoT to drive seismic change in the pest and hygiene industryto bring about sustainable, proactive and intelligentstrategies to enhance our approach to food safety to protectbrands and more importantly, protect human health


The Internet of things has dramatically changed how the pestindustry works. Now, thanks to connectivity, we can bringintelligence to proactively predict and manage pest risk inhigh dependency environments to protect brands and moreimportantly, protect human health


1.2| AAFP/BIOMÉRIEUX FOOD SAFETY SYMPOSIUM

Jack Van Der SandenSenior Food Safety Advisor, BioMérieux Industrial Microbiology

Topic: Where to Stick the Swab!? Selecting environmentalmonitoring sample points in a food factory

About:

Jack has worked in the global food industry for 35 years. He has astrong cross-functional background, having led production,technical, supply chain and food safety & quality teams. He iscurrently a Senior Food Safety Advisor with BioMerieux, helpingfood manufacturers around the world with Food Safety & Qualitychallenges.

Previously, Jack was the General Manager of Food Safety &Quality Assurance at Fonterra, a multinational dairy co-operativebased in New Zealand. During this time, he led a company-widefood safety review of Fonterra’s manufacturing base andredesigned the company’s food safety and quality standards forHACCP and Environmental Pathogen Management (EPM). He hasadvised many local and international food businesses andmanaged consultancy projects and training in the USA, Europeand Asia.

Jack has a food technology degree from The Netherlands and aPost Graduate Diploma in Dairy Science & Technology fromMassey University in New Zealand.


Environmental monitoring programs are an effectiveverification tool to confirm the health of your foodfactory. However, there is very little guidance in thescientific literature where to swab your factory andprocess. As a result, sample point selection tends to bean afterthought, which can lead to a sub-optimalenvironmental monitoring program and an “illusion ofcontrol”. In his presentation, Jack will introduce a risk-based/targeted approach for picking environmentalmonitoring sample points in a food factory andillustrate why you should always challenge yourprogram – whether you have positive results or not!



Dr. David JordanPrincipal Research Scientist, NSW Department of Primary Industries

Topic: Antimicrobial resistance in the food chain – a quarter centuryof persistence and progress

About:

David Jordan is a veterinarian and doctoral-trained epidemiologistwith keen interest in applied microbiology. He works for the NewSouth Wales Department of Primary Industries as a Senior PrincipalResearch Scientist with a background as a former field veterinarianwith longstanding interests in food safety, zoonotic disease and theimpacts these have on humans and their enterprises. With respect toantimicrobial resistance David has been a member and chair ofvarious national committees advising the Australian governmentsince 2001. He has also been an adviser to the FAO, the WHO, the OIE,foreign governments and food-industry multinationals.

He has held academic appointments and supervised graduatestudents at five Australian universities. For almost two decades hehas worked closely with the Australian livestock industries on thedesign conduct and interpretation of research on antimicrobialresistance and enteric pathogens at all stages of the food-chain. Hisextensive research experience can be accessed on Google Scholar.

Presentation overview: This presentation will consider the ascendency of antimicrobialresistance (AMR) to a globally pre-eminent public health issue withprofound ramifications for the production and consumption of foodsfrom animals. Major issues to be addressed include the progress withnational and international plans to control AMR in the “one health”context with specific reference to the Australian position. A previewwill be given to some new microbiological tools with enormouspromise for unravelling the complexity that characterises the biologyof AMR in the food chain.



Dr João André CarriçobioMérieux Industry and Researcher

Topic: Predictive Diagnostics: What It Means toFood Safety & Quality

About:

My current professional interests lie in the use ofhigh throughput sequencing methodologies andthe development of bioinformatics and datascience methodologies to improve food safety orprovide robustness to microbial based industrialprocesses. I strongly believe that these newtechnologies can provide us with the tools toimprove the quality and safety of the foodindustry and public health.

Previously I spent 10 years as an Academicresearcher developing Open Source Software atthe Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon,were I led a small group of bioinformaticians, andparticipated in several EU projects and in a EFSAfunded project. I was also an expert for theapplication of sequencing and bioinformatics forECDC and EFSA activities on this subject.



Associate Professor Kate HowellSchool of Agriculture and Food, University ofMelbourne

Topic: The science of sourdough: Communitycomposition is dependent on yeast and bacteria,species interaction and flour composition

About: Dr Kate Howell is a Senior Lecturer in FoodChemistry at the School of Agriculture and Foodat the University of Melbourne, Australia. She isthe Director of Research Training and hasleadership roles within the school and faculty.Kate coordinates and teaches undergraduatesubjects in Food and Nutrition and in the Masterof Food Science. Her research group investigateshow complex microbial communities functionthrough interspecies communication andinteraction with food components. Her otherresearch topics consider how microbes move infood and agricultural ecosystems, breadmicrobiology, health impacts from fermentedfoods, and Indigenous Australian foodways.Originally focussed on yeast genetics andapplications in wine and viticultural systems,Kate’s research agenda expanded to encompassbread and other fermented foods during her 2015sabbatical in France supported by the EU-Agreenskills program. Prior to her role at theUniversity of Melbourne, Kate was a postdoctoralfellow in the Department of Biochemistry at theUniversity of Geneva, Switzerland.

Presentation Abstract: Yeast and bacterial communities inhabit a sourdough starter to make artisanbread, and sourdough fermentations are an emerging model to studyinterkingdom communication and interaction between yeast and bacteria. Whilethe species present have been comprehensively catalogued, the interactions andpersistence of yeast and bacteria have not been characterised. Our laboratoryinvestigates the interactions of yeast and bacteria and the impact of nutrientavailability to persistence and activity of fermenting microbes and consideredthe impact on dough and bread composition.

Australian sourdough starters contain Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Kazachstaniaexigua and K. humilis yeasts. When these yeasts were inoculated alone toferment wheat flour in an extended fermentation, the bread had aheterogeneous crumb structure, a deeper colour and a distinctive chemicalaroma profile than those made with commercial baker’s yeast. When bread wasmade combining these yeasts individually and in combinations with lactic acidbacteria also isolated from these sourdough starters, includingFructilactobacillus sanfranciscensis (previously named Lactobacillussanfranciscensis), the bread aroma profiles and crumb structure were moredistinctive, with compounds associated with sour aromas produced, alteredcrumb structures and preferred by sensory panels.

The use of defined mixed cultures as the leaven in wheat bread-making, byexploiting the microbial diversity of artisan Australian starters, can producebread with distinctive and attractive aromas, altered gluten structures andcrumb properties. Inclusion of bran particles increased the small moleculesproduced. Interactions between sourdough microbes may affect longevity anddiversity of the fermenting population, and these results have implications fordeliberate construction of sourdough communities for bread production.Diverse microbes interact with the macromolecules in dough in very specificways to affect food quality and we argue that understanding the potential ofmicrobes in the context of diversity in wheat flour from different wheat varietiesis a new variable to be considered in achieving final product specifications.


1.3 | AN ANZ AND EUROPEAN VIEW ON ALLERGEN MANAGEMENT AND LABELLING

Kirsten GrinterDirector, Allergen Bureau, Nestle & AllergenBureau Australia

Topic: Allergen Bureau essential industry guidanceand resources

About:

Kirsten has worked in several different capacitiesacross her career, R&D, Manufacturing, Research,Regulatory and Nutrition. Her current role isRegulatory, Scientific Affairs & Nutrition Manager forNestlé Oceania.

Kirsten has been involved with the Allergen Bureauat its inception in 2005 and is passionate aboutdelivering industry allergen management initiatives.

Kirsten is the President of the Allergen Bureau and isdriving international acceptance of the VITAL riskbased program, through the work of the VITALScientific Expert Panel.

Kirsten considers that working collaboratively withindustry stakeholders, consumer groups andGovernment to be key for the industry to remaincompetitive and successful globally.


The Allergen Bureau (industry not for profit) has renewed its Visionand Mission, we have simplified our overall message around ourpriorities, and we continue to update our industry resources. Wehave updated our Allergen Bureau website recently with a user-friendly look ad feel and have created a VITAL online website as wellwhich is very easy to locate and access.

Recent changes to the Australian and New Zealand regulations,introduced to ensure consumer labelling clarity and consistency hasmeant that some of our key Best Practice Allergen Managementresources also required a review and update. We need to seek toalign where possible to provide specific, clear precautionaryallergen labelling information when it is determined necessarythrough risk review.

The Allergen Bureau continues to be a very relevant industry-basedorganisation today. Our work is steered through our Members andwe seek to address and manage their concerns and challenges ineveryday allergen management. The allergic consumer is at theheart of what we do and collaboration with local and Internationalscientific and consumer organisations remains key to our strategyand our future.


Dr Sylvia Pfaff Managing Director, FIS Europe

Topic: The European perspective and actionsregarding allergen management and PAL

About:

Dr. Sylvia Pfaff studied food chemistry in Hamburg.She did her PhD in aroma research. After someconsulting projects she joinde the EUROPREVALLproject on behalf of FIS Europe in 2006. Since thenshe implements allergen management systems inthe food industry,


In Europe and in Germany no legislative thresholds forunintentional presence of allergens are established.The VITAL 3.0 concept is well known. However, the foodindustry argues against it in different ways. theEuropean / German view will be reflected in thepresentation and the current legistlation will behighlighted.




Marty Blom Netherlands Organisations for applied scientific researchTNO

Topic: Consequences of food intake choices in allergen riskassessment and management

About:

Dr Marty Blom is scientific risk assessor at the NetherlandsOrganisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and holds aposition as guest scientist at the University Medical CenterUtrecht. She is leading the program line on Allergen andAllergy Management of the TNO Shared Research ProgramFood Allergy since 2016.

Her focus is on scientific and practical developments thatbenefit implementation of (probabilistic) allergen riskmanagement and quantitative guidance for precautionaryallergen labeling. She is passionate for improving food safetyfor the food allergic population. One of her current interestsare harmonised intake data, and, she is part of an ILSI Expertgroup aiming for harmonised quantitative allergen riskassessment for packaged foods.

Prior, Dr Blom was risk assessor at the Dutch National Institutefor Health and Environment, and research scientist at Unileverin innovation projects for immunomodulating ingredients. Sheobtained her PhD in cellular toxicology at Leiden University,The Netherlands and followed the postdoctoral education forregistered toxicologist.



Jasmine Lacis-Lee Allergen Bureau & BVAQ

Topic: FIGAML - what you MUST know about allergenmanagement and labelling

About:

Jasmine Lacis-Lee is a specialist in food safetymanagement within the Australian food manufacturingindustry. Jasmine has a Bachelor of Science, with morethan 20 years’ experience as a food microbiologist andover 15 years’ experience working in the food & beverageindustries. She currently holds professionalmemberships with the ASM (Australian Society ofMicrobiology), AIFST (Australian Institute of FoodScience and Technology), and EHEDG (European HygienicEngineering & Design Group).

She is the Honorary and Company Secretary of theAllergen Bureau, appointed a Board Director in 2018. Sheis also proud to be the founding Co-chair and a BoardDirector for Australian Regional division of the EHEDG.

Jasmine joined BVAQ based in QLD in July 2015 and inher role regularly consults both Nationally andInternationally with a variety of organisations from largeglobal food and beverage manufacturers, regulatoryauthorities, through to single hospital and hotelkitchens, where she provides strategies for managingmicrobiological and allergen risks; provides support withequipment installation and validations; as welldeveloping customised training covering microbiology,allergens and food safety risks. Jasmine is alsoresponsible for delivering Allergen Bureau endorsedVITAL® training.


Allergen Management is critical for both food service andfood manufacturing businesses to ensure that theyproduce and provide safe products to consumers. Thispresentation will touch on recent developments sharedduring the 4th Food Allergen Management Symposium,providing an overview on food allergy prevalence, theimpacts to consumers and what resources the AllergenBureau has available to assist businesses inimplementing allergen management processes



Georgina ChristensenAllergen Bureau

Topic: VITAL and PEAL updated best practice PAL

About:

Georgina Christensen is the VITAL® Coordinator for theAllergen Bureau and has been in this part-time role forthirteen years. This position was created to meet theincreasing demand for information and support for theVITAL® Program which is managed by the Allergen Bureau.In this role, Georgina answers enquiries from the local andinternational food industry about implementing the VITALProgram, provides support for and develops VITAL®Online, the web-based version of the VITAL® Calculatorand develops support materials for the VITAL Program.Georgina has extensive experience in the food industry,including in Food Regulations and also in ProductDevelopment and Quality Assurance positions with multi-national food companies. Georgina is passionate aboutallergen management and encouraging clear andconsistent allergen labelling on food products to assistthose with a food allergy to make informed food choices.


The recent changes to the Food Standards Code haveinfluenced the Allergen Bureau recommendations for bestpractice precautionary allergen labelling (PAL). Thispresentation will cover these changes and where you cango to find out more information about PAL statements.


Documents

DAY 1 - Convention Speaker bios